The Buzz

Sometimes, the things we come to love are the things that surprise us. Learning the six-lined racerunner lives in Will County is what made interpretive naturalist Erin Ward fall in love with them.

In honor of Arbor Day, here's a look at some of the many reasons we should appreciate trees.

You woke up to a blanket of fog covering the neighborhood, but where did it come from? 

The blooms of spring wildflowers can be fleeting, and that's certainly true of the mayapple. But what makes this plant all the more special is that its flowers hide under umbrella-like leaves, making them even harder to catch a glimpse of. 

Test your knowledge with this 10-question quiz.

This is the perfect year to participate in the City Nature Challenge, the aim of which is to document the plants and animals around your home. 

Not all moths and butterflies should be treasured. Some, like the gypsy moth, are invasive and are harming local habitats. 

Raccoons have a well-earned reputation for being trash bandits, but they deserve our respect too. 

We're charting migrations this season and we're excited to see they've made their way to Illinois.

Spring wildflowers are beautiful but fleeting. Keep your eyes trained to the ground when out for a walk to see if you can spot bloodroot, a fascinating ephemeral. 

After the overwhelming success of our second annual "Tournament of Birds," we're branching out with a new animal bracket pitting two things against each other that people love and love to hate: cute and cuddly animals against creepy crawlies.

Lightning can — and will — strike the same place twice, so always head indoors when thunder roars. 

Spring is spawning season for crappies, which offers an opportunity to get a good look at these fish. 

Have you ever seen a blue-spotted salamander? Most people haven't, but they do live in Will County. Finding one is a matter of knowing where to look. 

Is that snake you saw a dangerous eastern massasauga rattlesnake or a nonvenomous fox snake? If you saw it in Will County, it was a fox snake. The massasauga does not live in Will County. In fact, no venomous snakes do.